It was a rough day for State Dept spokesperson Marie Harf, she had to
field questions on Iraq at today's State Dept press briefing (here for it in full -- and we've excerpted the Iraq section here).

QUESTION: ISIL seized this dam up in Mosul and I was wondering if you
all could put that in perspective in terms of developments there. Also,
what can you tell us about the Administration’s thoughts about how to
help these trapped Iraqi civilians, these religious minorities that are
kind of in trouble? There’s some discussion right now about humanitarian
aid and whether or not that might include airstrikes or – what can you
tell us about that?

MS. HARF: Well, I’ll start with the dam and then let’s go to the broader
question. Obviously, the situation on the ground remains fluid, but the
latest information is that ISIL has advanced on Mosul Dam and taken
control of it. We are extremely concerned by this development. The dam
is a vital part of Iraq’s infrastructure, as it controls water levels on
the Tigris River. It is also a key source of water and electricity
generation for the Iraqi people. So we’re closely coordinating with the
Iraqis – with Iraqi officials in both Baghdad and Erbil to counter this
development. But also writ large, I’d just say a few points. I know
there’s a lot of interest out there on this today, a lot of questions
and information floating around. We are actively considering what we could do in support of Iraqi efforts
– what more we could do – and particularly to provide additional
support for the Yezidis, also the Christian communities we’ve talked
about. Look, this is a huge humanitarian crisis. You have thousands and
thousands of people at risk of death from starvation. We’re reviewing
what more we can do. Obviously, we’ve talked a lot about this over the
past few weeks. We’re working politically with the Iraqis on the
government formation process. We’ve seen some progress, and hopefully
we’ll see more. But we are right now actively considering what else we
can do given the extremely grave humanitarian situation that we see on
the ground. You’ve heard my colleague at the White House who I think
just talked about this as well, so we’re looking at options.

I want to establish a point here so let's stay with the above and then
move quickly through other sections on Iraq from today's briefing.

QUESTION: A few questions. Marie, on the question of the Yezidis, do we have any estimate of the – a number of people in peril?

MS. HARF: It’s a good question. I’m trying to get some information from
our folks on that. We know it’s – there – I’ve seen reports of 15,000.

QUESTION: Right.

MS. HARF: I’ve seen a number of reports. I’m trying to get a little more
clarity from our folks, and let me see if I can do that after the
briefing. We do know it’s not just the Yezidis, though. It’s also these
Christian communities. I mean, ISIL has come out and said they have a
desire to kill people because of their sect or their ethnicity or their
religion, and that they’ve been doing so. And so what we’ve seen on the
ground is just really horrific, and that’s why right now, immediately,
we are trying to find more ways to help.

QUESTION: And is – policy-wise, is stopping ethnic cleansing or is fear
of potential ethnic cleansing a core national security interest of this
Administration?

MS. HARF: I think you’ve seen throughout this Administration that when
we have the ability to prevent humanitarian crises, or when we have the
ability to help once there is a humanitarian crisis, ease the suffering
of people through whatever means possible, right – we have a number of
tools at our disposal – that has been a core principle for what guides
our action. It’s certainly not the only one.[. . .]QUESTION: But ISIL could continue its advance. It could turn on the Yezidis; it could turn on the Christian minority.

MS. HARF: It already has.

QUESTION: It – yeah. Well, it could step it up.

MS. HARF: That’s true.

Marie Harf says IS is turning on Yazidis and Christians. Does she say much else?

I really don't think this would fly under Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton or, for that matter, under Secretary of State Condi Rice.

If a group is being attacked, they need to be defended.

Did Marie issue a statement expressing outrage over the asaults?

In the entire press briefing, she used the term Yazidis only once and
the only time she mentioned Christians was with the phrase "Christian
communities" -- she used that phrase twice.

Given the chance to amplify outrage or register objection, a bored Marie
takes a pass, mustering all the enthusiasm to decry religious
intolerance as she'd offer deciding between roasted cherry and
candy-shell red at her next manicure.

This is exactly how the administration has ended up with such a lousy
reputation among many Christians, Jews and other groups. The argument
goes, a video on YouTube insults Muslims and Barack and others
(including Hillary) are all over the media expressing dismay. But
Yazidis and Christians in Iraq are not targeted with videos, they're
targeted with bullets, bombs, knifes, etc. They're being killed not
misentertained.

And where is the administration?

Why isn't Barack back on The View? Why isn't he denouncing this religious persecution the same way he does a video on YouTube?

I don't disagree that Barack has many things to do on any day. But if
it's a question of too little time in his day, that's all the more
reason that spokespeople like Marie Harf need to be strongly objecting.
(For those wondering why we're not quoting Josh Earnest, White House
spokesperson, the White House needs to stop being so lazy and post text
and video of today's press briefing. They're lazy and embarrassing.
It's Thursday and their most recent posted briefing is from Tuesday.)

There is a cultural difference that is repeatedly ignored. Most
Americans have the attitude of get-over-it when a joke misfires or
offends. So the notion that you would apologize -- as a leader of the
free world -- over some video posted to YouTube when you won't speak out
loudly and condemn killing people for their religious beliefs?

I'm sorry, Barack chose to be president of the United States. That does
require you understand groups of people, not just your personal
favorites.

And it is not shocking that some Christians in the US are dismayed by
Barack's inability to address religious persecution -- especially when
it is expressed in violence.

The gathering storm was finally spotted by the White House today.

Sky News reports, "A
US official has said an 'effort has begun' to make humanitarian air
drops over northern Iraq in the wake of ongoing jihadist offensive." Benjamin Landy (MSNBC) adds, "The U.S. has been flying F-18 fighter jets, B-1 bombers and Predator
drones over Iraq for several weeks on surveillance missions, which could
be used as cover for the humanitarian mission or to protect the 40 U.S.
personnel currently in Irbil." David Jackson and Jim Michaels (USA Today) explain,
"Iraqi aircraft have attempted to air drop supplies to the Yazidis but
with limited success. Dropping supplies, particularly on a mountain top,
is difficult as packages of food and water break open on impact. The
U.S. Air Force has extensive experience with air dropping supplies,
which they regularly do in the mountains of Afghanistan with accuracy."